OldClassicGamer wrote:sonicbrawler182 wrote:My brother got a lend of Knack and so I've been playing it for the last few hours.
Its...OK. Nothing more than that though.
Do you think it is not on the same rank like PS1 Crash?
DEFINITELY not. Gameplay wise, it is actually much more similar to Crash of the Titans (which I enjoyed more than Knack from what little I played of CotT).
It's more fun in co-op, though...but CotT also had co-op.
Basically, here's what puts me off about Knack (and this turned into a mini-rant as a lot bugs me about this game):
-In Hard Mode, nearly everything is a one hit kill.
-Checkpoints are obnoxiously scarce.
-Extremely repetitive. I've often fought the same group of enemies within 5 minutes of each other. Which is worsened by the bad checkpoint system.
-The game isn't actually "challenging" in a proper way, it just relies on the aforementioned one-hit kills to boot you back to checkpoints that you reached over 10 minutes ago and therefore extend the length of the game. Defeating enemies is just a matter of observing their very telegraphed patterns, and mashing the attack button when they leave an opening. One on one fights are generally really easy, it's only difficult because you are often fighting four or five enemies in EXTREMELY claustrophobic areas. Fights in more wide open areas are also REALLY easy, they just force you into an awkward situation most of the time. Also, they often rely on invisible walls to do this, which I hate. Many of these areas could have had more space to move around in, where you could easily reach a ledge by jumping, but there is an invisible wall blocking your way, forcing you to stay in an extremely cramped arena.
-Knack only has one button for attacking, the Square button. While you do have what are essentially screen clearing Super Moves, they rely on an energy source, and you can only stock three at a time (there is an upgrade that allows you to stock four, though). But because it almost always takes a really long time to build up energy for one Super Move, you're stuck to mashing the Square button for the majority of the game, as you'll want to save these Super Moves for particularly tough fights, or for bosses. Most fights have Sunstones to smash so you can build up energy for Super Moves, but you retain their energy even after dying. Meaning you can potentially cheese fights by fully building up three stocks of energy by collecting energy, dying, etc, etc, and then use the Super Moves to clear out enemies in three different areas. Rinse and repeat to beat the game (only it would take longer than actually trying to get through the game normally). Also, a co-op partner can basically kill every enemy for you if you want them too. The camera usually has a pretty good view of what is ahead, so a co-op partner could run really far ahead of you in a lot of cases and kill the enemies for you.
-If you are looking for a platformer game in Knack, look elsewhere. It does have a few platforming sections to break things up, but they are super basic, and the horizontal ones can be cheesed by jumping, double jumping, air dodging, and performing the air dodge attack. The jumping here is just barely functional too. Its very slow and clunky. Really, if you want an awesome next gen 3D platformer that has similarities to PS1 Crash, get Super Mario 3D World.
-Speaking of clunky, Knack feels slow and clunky in general, even when he is small. Dodges leave you extremely open after performing them. Every motion you make just has this huge, weighty lag to it, for the most part. This makes sense when you are huge, but it shouldn't be like this when you are small, yet it is.
-Secrets are not really "secret", you simply have to break open weak walls to find them, and the rooms that contain them literally all look the same.
The secret chests you find are gadget parts, and collecting all of the parts for a gadget gives you some sort of upgrade. It takes way too long to get a single upgrade though. I've played for a few hours, and have collected many parts, but I have not completed a single set, as they are so spread out. There is an online related gimmick where, if you have friends on PSN who play Knack and have found gadget parts, you can choose from one of the parts they have found each time you find a chest, which would probably make building gadgets easier, but I have not been able to benefit from this feature, so the order I get them in is completely random.
-There is SO much wasted potential here, to the point I think this game may have been rushed out for the PS4's launch. Knack's whole gimmick is that he can attract parts known as relics to make his body bigger and bulkier. However, beyond making him bigger, sacrificing parts to power an elevator (which is a completely arbitrary way of stripping you of the power you worked so hard to gain - and yes, the devices you sacrifice parts to power are almost always elevators), or running away from hazards that strip you of your parts and eventually kill you, they do nothing with this gimmick. Not to mention that gaining/losing parts is almost completely scripted, the parts are just lying there at specific points for you to pick-up. Each section is pretty much designed with a particular size for Knack in mind, and you will never not be at that size.
Then there are sections where they wave a potential new mechanic in your face, but never give it to you. Mainly, the Ice Crystals and Clear Crystals. When you get the Ice Crystals, you'd assume you'd get ice powers. But you never do. They essentially serve as extra armour for that one section of the game, and are used to create a hardly existing timed section, where you must make use of the added strength provided by the ice parts to defeat some pretty huge enemies, before they melt in the sun. This doesn't add anything to the gameplay, though.
Then when you get Clear Crystals, they give you the "Stealth Knack" ability, which makes you turn invisible, but you are stripped down to the bare minimum amount of parts and you basically have 1HP while in this state (if the one-hit kills in Hard Mode were not already bothersome enough). But you only ever use it to bypass security beams (and you then have to find a switch that will disable them, to let your human companions follow you), or to fit into vents. Since it's called "Stealth Knack", and since it reduces your HP to nothing, and since it has that typical clear texture that games use when you are invisible/camouflaged, you'd think that it could be used to sneak up on enemies and maybe get one or two free kills. But nope, they can see you perfectly fine.
-There are so many basic functions that this game is missing, and so many buttons (as well as the touch pad) are completely unused. There is only one regular attack button, you have no ranged attack (which would have fit Knack perfectly, and could have added an interesting resource management twist to the game), and you can't even block attacks. Also, the dodge is mapped to the right stick. Didn't like that in God of War, and since this game lacks a block button, it's even worse here. It means dodging requires you take your thumb away from the face buttons, which are used for jumping and attacking.
I honestly can't recommend this game all that much. The story is decent, I guess, and the game is pretty (though regarding how it looks in terms of textures and models and lighting, it really could have been done on a PS3. The only thing in this game that would prevent it from being on PS3 is the fact Knack can gather up tons of parts, and that the levels are full of breakable objects. Remember that tech demo where Sony showed off how the PS4 could handle like, a million of the "PS Shapes" on screen, without hiccups, in a properly detailed environment? Knack is the game that shows off that same concept). But the game is just borderline mediocre (as in, I am very close to calling it outright bad - and I haven't even finished the game yet).
I will say that Knack himself is a cool character, though. I like his personality, and he does have a gimmick with so much potential. They could make a mascot out of him, but they really need to shake things up if they make a sequel.
